Bingham boys tennis wraps up season with sixth-place finish at state

Jun 15, 2018 11:38AM
● By Josh McFadden

Bingham freshman Josh Peterson awaits the ball during the 6A state boys tennis tournament at Liberty Park May 17–18. Peterson team with Cody White to reach the semifinals at state. (Photo by Jaelyn Moses)

In a process that began after the
2017 season’s state tournament came to a close, the Bingham boys tennis team
closed out this year’s campaign with a solid showing at the Class 6A state
tournament.

The Miners finished sixth at the
tournament, held May 17–18 at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City. Facing some of
the top players and teams in the state, Bingham totaled six points, one point
behind co-fourth-place finishers Weber and Layton, and two points behind the
third-place team, Pleasant Grove. Lone Peak scored 30 points to win the Class
6A crown.

Bingham qualified six of its seven
varsity players for the state tournament. Not bad for a youthful squad that
entered the season with little experience.

“I was very happy how we handled the
pressure and the environment for such a young team,” said head coach Steve
Peterson. “This was the first time many of our players qualified for state. All
matches were very competitive, and they never gave up. One critical game in the
third set of our first doubles match in the semifinals lasted about 30 minutes.
I have never seen one game last that long.”

First singles player Ethan Snow and
third singles competitor Jeremy Christensen lost in the first round, but
Peterson was pleased with their effort.

“They played their best matches of
the year,” he said.

On the first doubles side, freshman
Josh Peterson and sophomore Cody White defeated a pair from Cyprus 6-0, 6-0 in
the first round and then took care of Riverton’s first doubles tandem 6-3, 6-3
in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, they succumbed to Lone Peak’s entry in
first doubles 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. That Lone Peak pair then won the state title in
straight sets.

In second doubles, senior Austin Cox
and junior Ben Crane beat Herriman’s team in the first round 6-1, 6-1 and then
took out Weber’s team in the quarterfinals 6-3, 6-0. Cox and Crane then moved
on to the championship with a 6-3, 6-4 victory in the semifinals over American
Fork. The pair took second place when they fell to Alex Miller and Josh
Weichers of Lone Peak 6-2, 6-3.

With the 2018 season behind him,
Steve Peterson reflected on the year as a whole and is happy with his players’
performance. He knows each player has improvements to make, but he’s excited
for the potential that lies ahead.

“I think we had another good year,”
he said. “We certainly have things to work on, but overall, I’m very pleased
with how the boys competed.”

Snow and White served as team
captains this season, and they both return next year. White has competed at
state consecutive years and has gained valuable experience. Crane and Christensen
will come back as seniors for the 2019 campaign. Josh Peterson, Sam McCoy and
Tate Pedersen will only continue to get better. The freshmen contributed
significantly to the Miners’ cause this season. Steve Peterson said soon-to-be
junior Jaxson Galli has also shown significant improvement each year he has
been in the program.

Based on the large contingent of
returning starters and contributors, Steve Peterson has high hopes for next
season.

“I love to see the improvement in
the team from year to year,” he said. “We have a lot of players working really
hard to compete for those coveted varsity spots next year. We hope to finish
higher in region and state next season.”